Ezra Shaw/Getty ImagesThe U.S. synchronized swimming team, which finished 10th at the world championships in Shanghai this summer, will seek to qualify in Guadalajara, Mexico, for the London Olympics.The best word to describe the quadrennial Pan American Games: eclectic.
A gymnastics world champion working her way back into form may share television time with a world-record holder in slalom water skiing. A diver trying to clinch an Olympic spot for her country may cross paths with a young swimmer just looking for some international experience. A D-League basketball player may get his first glimpse of a game called basque pelota, or encounter an elite water skier by the name of … Freddy Krueger.
Women to watch
espnW offers a snapshot of the top American female athletes competing at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Story »
The Pan Am Games include 42 countries from North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Every Olympic sport is represented, along with an assortment of non-Olympic sports -- karate, squash, water skiing, roller skating, softball, baseball, racquetball, bowling and the aforementioned basque pelota.
In some sports, the Pan Ams are essentially Olympic qualifiers. Flatwater canoe/kayak athletes have their berths at the London Games at stake, as do the handball teams. In other sports with complex qualifying systems, like triathlon and badminton, the Pan Ams have some Olympic ramifications, but there are several other routes through which athletes can qualify for London 2012. And in sports such as basketball and volleyball, there is no connection between the Pan Ams and Olympic qualifications. As for non-Olympic sports such as karate and roller skating, there is no bigger international competitive stage for a U.S. athlete than the Pan Ams.
The Games will run Oct. 14-30 in Guadalajara, Mexico, and several nearby cities -- the mountain venue of Tapalpa will host mountain biking, Ciudad Guzman will have canoeing and rowing, Lagos de Moreno welcomes baseball and the resort town of Puerto Vallarta has the sea sports of open-water swimming, triathlon, sailing and beach volleyball. ESPN Deportes and ESPN3 will have the bulk of the coverage, with some events also on ESPN2.
Click to page 2 for our sport-by-sport breakdown of who to watch and what's at stake at the 2012 Pan American Games.
